Let's face it. If we're going to win this thing anytime soon, we need to start getting a lot of Hillary supporters to convert. We're not going to do that with negativity, badgering, name calling, or rubbing in their many, many pathetic defeats.
We have to do it with kindness. Obama's biggest asset is us. We're great people. We have to show them that we're great people to be around, that we have a positive outlook, and that our campaign is like a joy ride.
So, I made a video to help. Here it is;
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9aT3scqk2V8
Pass it along for me, get it in front of people.
Be nice to the Hillary supporters. We need them.
It’s pretty simple really. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are two excellent choices for president, but only one of them can win in November. That’s Obama.
Hillary has brand-name-recognition, I’ll give her that. But, it’s a double edge sword. She’s not going to change anybody’s mind, you either love her or you hate her. And frankly, about half the country hates her.
So, as hard as it is, imagine a Hillary –v– McCain General Election. Remember that map of the USA during the ’04 Election? Well that’s our starting point. You can expect the same old red states and blue states. Ohio will be the kingmaker, again. Ohioans are a strange bunch, they’re largely independent and moderate on most issues. Hillary Clinton is not popular there, I know, I lived there for 18 years. McCain will suck up all the independents in Ohio. Same with Florida. Same with New Hampshire. The Dems will lose the ’08 Election the EXACT same way we did in ’04.
Let’s look at the Republicans. It’s beautiful, they’re a tanking party. They’re split into 3 factions; Religious, Conservative, and Moderate. 28 Republican members of the House have already announced retirement, many more are expected to resign. Even Rush Limbaugh is bashing the party, saying it’s too fractured to compete right now. The Democrats have an opportunity to pounce and create at least a 60% working majority in congress and take the White House. There is absolutely nothing that will unite the Republican Party right now, except of course a Clinton. The Clinton’s unite the Republicans better than they unite Democrats unfortunately.
So, let’s look at the Clintons. I’ll give credit where credit is due. Bill Clinton was a great President. The country was better off at the end of his term than it was before his term. But, let’s face it, the bad stuff about Bill Clinton outweighed the good stuff. Just ask Al Gore. By any estimation, Al Gore should have swept into office in 2000 based on a record of great accomplishment in the 90’s. The Clinton Scandals gave George W Bush the opening he needed to become President, and the Republicans the majority in the Senate and House. The rest is history.
The Clintons are rife with Scandal. Just today, a new cropped up in the Times about a$31 million deal for Kazakstan Uranium. In 2006 the Democrats AND Republicans blocked and redacted the Barrett Report, which is an indictment on both Clintons’ abuses of power during the 90’s and this decade. The Democrats blocked it so they could win the ’06 midterm elections. The Republicans blocked it so they could use it in ’08 to destroy Hillary. Any member of congress can file to have the redacted parts published. The Republicans will flood the airwaves with “Monica” and “Paula Jones” and who knows what else.
It’s too big of a risk to nominate Hillary. If McCain is the President, we’re looking at more Anti-Choice judges, 100 years of mid-east war, more tax cuts for the rich, etc. etc. etc.
Let’s look at what Obama has done for the Democratic Party in just a months’ time. He’s sucked up millions of independents. He’s tapped into the youth vote. He’s motivated an entire generation. He’s expanded the size of the Democratic Party with massive amounts of enthusiasm. And he’s given a voice to so many who were voiceless for so long. His movement is only growing, while Hillary is flat lining (see above, Name Recognition, everyone’s mind is already made up about her.)
Obama is EXACTLY what the Democratic Party needs at this EXACT time in history. His movement will create a landslide victory for the Dems on every level of government in the fall. When people go to vote in presidential elections, they’re confronted with a huge ballot with candidates for congress, senate, governor, state reps, local reps, and most importantly judges. Obama will bring a HUGE electorate to the Democratic side, when we vote for Obama, we’ll vote Democratic across the board.
Think of the implications a Democratic LANDSLIDE could have in November. We can put an end to the Anti-Choice insurgency and finally guarantee women’s reproductive rights. We can end our culture of military and war and base our society on peace. We can finally overcome the Health Insurance Lobby, the Oil Lobby, the Defense Lobby. We can solve Healthcare, we can solve education, and we can solve poverty. We can give our country a brand new face to reintroduce ourselves to the world. We can create a new Great American Generation. And that’s just what we accomplish on day one. The possibilities are endless of what we could accomplish for a full term.
This is huge. It’s too big of an opportunity to pass up. It’s too much to risk nominating someone who will only unify the opponents of what we want to accomplish.
I implore all of you. GET INVOLVED. We are Barack’s biggest asset.
Folks, we have one week until Super Tuesday. We have a lot of work to do this week.
My challenge to everyone is to convince one person to vote for Barack Obama this week.
Here’s what I’m doing. I went down to Kinkos and made a button that says simply, “Ask me about Barack Obama.” I’m sort of an unofficial surrogate. But it really, really works.
On the subway every morning you wouldn’t believe the political discussions that can get started in a car. People are bored to death anyway and would love to have a discussion. This is New York City, home of the greatest talkers on earth.
Be honest with people. Most of Hillary’s support is simply out of default and they really love Obama and want to believe he can win in November. Remind them of how much Obama has expanded the Democratic Party in such a short period of time. Remind them that only Barack beat every Republican in Red State South Carolina. He even beat the top two contenders combined. Remind them that the Republicans are sure to dig up every last ounce of Clinton Scandal for the General. Remind them what that did to our party and our chances the last time. Ask them if they really want to relive it.
A lot are concerned about women’s rights. Remind them that Barack has two little girls that drive his conscience. Remind them that Barack has a perfect rating with Planned Parenthood.
Some people are concerned about his experience. Remind them of his real world and public experience. Remind them that Hillary voted for the Iraq War. The most important and consequential decision of her political life was wrong.
Always remember, Barack has an amazing asset that no other campaign has.
US.
We’re Barack’s best asset, so get out there and use it.
Convince one person this week.
Or; When the going gets tough, the tough get involved
Last night I attended an “Ask Me About Barack” happy hour in down on Houston Street. My experience was amazing.
I entered the bar looking to bash Hillary with my fellow Obama supporters. But, it didn’t turn out that way. A few volunteers from New Hampshire were there and gave a talk and a speech. They opened the floor to questions. Immediately I asked “What are we going to do about Hillary.”
“We’re not concerned about Hillary,” they said. “Hillary is Hillary, we expected these tactics from her. We’re going to win South Carolina, we’re going to win more delegates on the 5th and we’re going to take this movement across the country and win… and in Denver, Hillary will give a very nice concession speech.”
Not satisfied, I implored “How are we going to fight back?” I wanted strategy.
But, there was none. “We can’t out-Clinton the Clintons. The Change comes from the bottom up.”
And then it dawned on me. I was reminded of Mahatma Gandhi’s great quote, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” It’s a popular quote, I even have a magnet on my fridge with that quote on it. Only, typically “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” is quoted. The most important part here is the “YOU MUST”.
YOU MUST get involved. YOU MUST attend an event. YOU MUST go to the rallies. YOU MUST talk to your friends and family about Barack. YOU MUST convince people. YOU MUST know the issues and where you stand. YOU MUST write your local papers. YOU MUST do it. It’s not good enough to simply say you’re being the change. YOU MUST be the change.
I implore you all, get involved. Are you donating? Are you attending events? Are you talking to undecided voters? Are you trying to convince your friends of Obama’s promise? Or are you just pissed of that Hillary is being Hillary.
Hillary is going to be Hillary, there’s nothing we can do except get more votes than her. YOU MUST be the change if you want the world to change, and YOU MUST be the change RIGHT NOW!!!
Or; A Letter to Whoever Runs the Democratic Party
It’s really quite simple. Barack Obama is bringing a new electorate into the Democratic Party.
You can’t refute the math. Perhaps half of the country doesn’t vote because they just don’t care. I know because I’m one of them. I’m an independent voter, and I’ve been seduced into the Democratic Party by Barack Obama.
Interestingly, though, as much as Barack Obama has done to bring me into the party, Hillary Clinton has done to drive me away. Doesn’t she want my vote? What if by some miracle she beats Obama for the nomination, what am I to do? Hillary has already told me she doesn’t want my vote.
That’s why, I as an honorary Democrat, would like to tell the Democratic Party suits and officials to SMARTEN UP! Barack Obama is like political gold. He’s actually tapping a massive untapped electorate out there and you’re all sitting by quietly as Hillary Clinton does whatever she can to undo it.
Barack Obama benefits EVERYONE in the Democratic Party, not just himself. When I go to the polls to vote for Obama as a Democrat, I’m probably going to vote for the other Democrats too. But if, I go to the polls and see Hillary Clinton’s name as the leader of the Democrats, I’m probably not going to vote for her or other Democrats. I’ll probably vote Mike Bloomberg and leave the rest blank.
Don’t you see? I’m not asking the Party to back Obama, quite the opposite, I’m simply asking the party to condemn Hillary’s way of doing things. Let the best candidate win. Currently she’s driving more people away then she brings in. It’s simple mathematics.
She’ll never, ever have this vote.
The Irony is just too thick to pass up. In 1964, Hillary Clinton was a self described “Goldwater-Republican”. Barry Goldwater was one of twenty-seven Senators to actually vote against the Civil Rights Act. Barry Goldwater was Lyndon Johnson’s opponent in 1964 and started the modern conservative movement. Interesting that Hillary employs Rovian tactics from the modern conservative movement; Distract, Divide, Destroy. And while “it took a president” to enact the Civil Rights Act as she so eloquently said, Hillary was clearly for the other guy.
Thought I’d mention that.
The distinctions between these two have never been more clear. Hillary will say anything/do anything to win, even if it means dividing her own party. Obama only wants to win if he has a strong, united country behind him.
Do we continue The Bush/Clinton Era? Or do we decide a new fate for this country?
I’m for the new fate, that’s why Obama has my vote.
Quote:
"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country...corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war."
-Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
Again, I implore you, “Who Are We?”
Are we a government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations?
I’m bringing this up in light of Rudy Giuliani’s Health Care Proposal. It proposes up to a $15,000 tax break to individuals who forgo their companies’ health plan and purchase their own. Supposedly the ‘increased competition’ will lower premiums.
So let’s break this down. The government plans to subsidize your health coverage, up to $15,000 a year. Don’t be fooled, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was authored by the Health Insurance Lobby.
All this will do is further ensure the Health Insurance Companies’ profits, it will do nothing for people who can’t afford or can’t get health insurance. Obviously if you’re unemployed or self employed and can’t afford insurance, well you’re out of luck. If you’re sick and saddled with “pre-existings” and can’t get insurance, well you’re out of luck too. If you’re sick and have coverage, this will do nothing to ensure you get the coverage you paid for.
Giuliani is playing to Americans’ over-willingness to pay everything on the back end. Why is it better to subsidize and pay for a ‘for-profit’ system on the back end when the same money could be used to fund a ‘not-for-profit’ system on the front end? It makes no sense. Accompany that with some grand ‘free market’ rhetoric and you’ve got an outline for a corporate coup with fat profits.
Meanwhile, we’re not talking about selling potato chips or gasoline, we’re talking about your health, your ability to survive.
These are the stakes in this election. These kinds of corporate coups are what we’re up against, and I’m sure no doubt why you’ve chosen Obama.
Or: The Experience Quotient
Or better yet: Who Are We?
I’ve fantasized too. Hillary Clinton will be President. She’ll be the Democrats answer to the Bush years. Republicans in this country will get a turn to be disenfranchised voters, and the streets of Washington will run red with Republican blood. It will be a great to be a democrat again, just like the 90’s; eight years of glory led by our anointed one.
Only, in eight years time, we’ll be exactly where we are now, except the division in our nation only deepened, and the frustration with our government only compounded.
This past week saw good political theatre between Hillary and Barack with a skirmish over foreign policy. Hillary played the experience card. Barack, expecting this, out flanked her from the left, making her middling look like she was to the right of an issue. Suddenly her policy looked like the Bush/Cheney foreign policy.
Obviously George Bush and Hillary Clinton approach everything from two totally different ideologies. But are they really that different?
A Hillary Presidency would be a continuation of the Federal Government as we know it under Bush. The President enters office with a long series of debts to repay to lobbyists, corporate donors, and special interests, AND let’s not forget, a long list of apposing and opposing lobbyists, corporate donors, and special interests to defeat.
And that’s what people mean when they say “Political Experience.” That’s the experience of playing the high stakes game of checkers, also known as “Life in Washington D.C.” And, it’s entertaining as hell sometimes. At least we Democrats know going in that both Hillary and Barack will be able to go toe-to-toe with whatever Republican challenger they encounter in the General Election. At least we know, this won’t be a repeat of John Kerry’s performance.
But I’m continually struck by the same question. Who are we? as a nation and as a society? What is the purpose of our Federal Government?
Lately it seems like the purpose of the Fed is to entertain us. Like sports, it’s a competition where Americans get to choose sides and root for their favorite team and players. At the end of the day it feels like we accomplished something too. In reality, they got paid a hell of a lot more than us and we simply turned the TV off and went to bed. Nothing got accomplished.
We’ve been lulled to sleep. In our elections, we’re just voting for candidates with long series of debts to Special Interests. That’s how our society works, money means influence, influence means power, and power means more money… and so on. Our Federal Government is just a Good Ol’ Boys Club in a Company Town. Meanwhile there are real issues NOT being solved out here in the real world, and they still wonder why their approval ratings are so low; maybe people are starting to catch on.
And they are serious issues. Mine for instance; How the hell am I ever going to start my own business? Show me how Government IS NOT working against me? How can I start a family? and feed them? and educate them? and keep them healthy? and keep them safe? Show me where Government has these same priorities.
Show me a politician I’d be proud to show my kid.
Really ask yourself, “Who are we?” Any nation as savvy, as creative, as brilliant, as great as ours should be able to figure this out.
Or: How you can tell the Republican Party is lame & irrelevant and 'staying the course' on a sinking ship. Or: Better yet; How you can tell your favorite Presidential Candidate is a winner.
Mit Romney had some pretty interesting points yesterday. He said that Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama wanted kids to learn Sex Ed in Kindergarten. What an outrage. I certainly don't want my 5 year olds passing around cucumbers and papayas and coming home with free NYC Condoms. What was Obama thinking!? Incase you didn't pick up on this... that was sarcasm. The reality is that Mit Romney resorted to what's known as a 'smear tactic'. That's how you know the Republican Party has become lame and irrelevant. Cause all they have is smear tactics and the country aint buyi' it anymore. Obama simply likes the idea of teaching kids about the difference between appropriate contact and inappropriate contact when interacting with adults. And, he supports the idea of funding programs that teach this to kids in schools, not as part of curriculum, but as an option for parents. "Parents should teach that," you say? Of course they should, but everyone knows that things taught in schools can reinforce what parents teach at home. And it's optional, for crying out loud. I can tell Barack is a winner. Not only because he's receiving these smear tactics (Republicans only smear those they're afraid might beat them) but that he didn't back down. He stood by his belief and didn't allow words to be put in his mouth. I for one, am glad to support a Presidential Candidate who thinks the the well being of kids is a priority. It's about time.
Or how I learned to stop caring about politics from Yahoo Answers.
It was just another slow wednesday afternoon at work, and I was 15 minutes away from my 3pm coffee. I was checking my yahoo account and down on the right side of the page was a picture of Nancy Pelosi. I like her so I clicked on the pic, it took me too Yahoo answers. Nancy was asking the Yahoo community about Global Warming; what they thought should be included in an upcoming bill.
I thought it was a cool idea, so I gave my two cents. Then I read some other answers and slowly became more and more horrified. Not that there weren't some good suggestions brought up by republicans and democrats both but, but there were so many vile, hateful responses to her and about her. What disgusted me most was just the obvious regurgitation of conservative talk radio. But it got me thinking. I wonder what else people are talking about on there, so I checked out the politics section. It got dirty. The first question I saw was from "Noam_Depix": Why are all Democrats anti-life Abortionists? ugh. Another one of his questions: If Obama bin HUSSEIN al Barack was born in Kenya, how can he run for president in the US? double ugh. Looking some more, I found some entertaining ones. From "RandomAverage_Joe" DEMS/REPS What kind of music do you listen to? Great question. Something we don't have to disagree on. I answered that one: "I make an attempt to like all music I hear. I love music." But music tastes even seemed split along party lines. I was discouraged.
There was so much negativity in all the posts and questions. Democrats were just as guilty too, slinging mud and the republicans. The Republicans seemed a heck of a lot more organized in their onslaught though. My least favorite question was: Why do Liberals hate freedom? I was just too ticked to continue reading. Who told this person that liberals hate freedom? It got me thinking and I decided to ask a question... feel free to answer it here too. Can we start with agreeing on the problems? Obviously we can't agree on any solutions yet. But can we even agree on what the problems actually are? Again answers, split along party lines. Republicans are worried about terrorism, immigration, and taxes. Democrats are worried about Iraq, the environment, education and healthcare. We both think we're right and the other is wrong. A stalemate. Why can't we even agree on what the problems are? That got me thinking again (it wasn't a real productive day at work today if you haven't guessed). Someone is telling us what the problems are based on their agendas, and their agendas are likely based on where they're getting lobbyist money.
Big Oil has frames every possible debate into their favor. Gas prices are high because there are not enough refineries, there aren't enough refineries because the environmental restrictions are too much, oh by the way global warming is junk science and it will cost way too much for the economy and you hate taxes too, and alaskan drilling will solve all these problems. Democrats frame everything too, we're just not nearly as good at it.
So let me answer my own question
The biggest problem facing this country is politics. It's time we got a new hobby.
On May 1st, 1969, Fred Rogers of ‘Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications. Nixon was attempting to slash a grant for Public Television, originally proposed by Lyndon Johnson. The Subcommittee chair was the gruff and tough Senator John Pastore and he was not likely to be moved.
What transpired was not only an eloquent speech about children needing to see a better alternative to violence and war, but that a little hope and optimism (or the audacity to have it) can go a long way. I think the dialogue still rings true.
Enjoy.
Mr. Rogers: (referring to his written statement) Senator Pastore, this is a philosophical statement and would take about ten minutes to read, so I’ll not do that. One of the first things that a child learns in a healthy family is trust. And, I trust what you have said, that you will read this. It’s very important to me. I care deeply about children. My first children’s…..
Senator Pastore: (with his usual gruff interrupting style) Will it make you happy if you read it?
Mr. Rogers: I’d just like to talk about it, if it’s alright.
Senator Pastore: Alright Sir.
Mr. Rogers: My first children’s program was on WQED fifteen years ago, and its budget was thirty dollars. Now, with the help of the Sears Roebuck Foundation and National Educational Television as well as all the affiliated stations, each station pays to show our program. It’s a unique kind of funding in educational television. With this help, now our program has a budget of six thousand dollars. It may sound like quite a difference, but six thousand dollars pays for less than two minutes of cartoons. Two minutes of animated, what I sometimes say, bombardment. I’m very much concerned, as I know you are, about what’s being delivered to our children in this country, and I’ve worked in the field of child development for six years now, trying to understand the inner needs of children. We deal with such things as the inner drama of childhood. We don’t have to bop somebody over the head to make him…. To make drama on the screen. We deal with such things as getting a haircut or the feelings about brothers and sisters and the kind of anger that arises in simple family situations. And we speak to it constructively.
Senator Pastore: How long of a program is it?
Mr. Rogers: It’s a half hour everyday. Most channels schedule it in the noontime as well as in the evening. Um, WETA here ha scheduled it in the late afternoon.
Senator Pastore: Can we get a copy of this so we can see it? Maybe not today, but I’d like to see the program.
Mr. Rogers: I’d like very much for you to see it.
Senator Pastore: I’d like to see the program itself or any one of them, ya see?
Mr. Rogers: We made a hundred programs for EEN, the Eastern Educational Network, and then when the money ran out, people in Boston and Pittsburgh and Chicago all came to the floor and said, ‘We’ve got to have more of this neighborhood expression of care.’ And this is what…. This is what I give. I give an expression of care everyday to each child to help him realize that he is unique. I end the program by saying, ‘You’ve made this day a special day by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.’ And I feel that if we, in Public Television, can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service for mental health. I think that it’s much more dramatic that two men could be working out their feelings of anger, much more dramatic than showing something of gunfire. I’m constantly concerned with what our children are seeing, and for fifteen years I have tried, in this country and in Canada, to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care.
Senator Pastore: Do you narrate it?
Mr. Rogers: I’m the host, yes, and I do all the puppets and I write all the music, and I write all the scripts.
Senator Pastore: Well, I’m supposed to be a pretty tough guy, and this is the first time I’ve had goose-bumps for the last two days.
(Gallery laughs)
Mr. Rogers: Well, I’m grateful, not only for you goose-bumps, but for your interest in our kind of communication. Could I tell you the words of one the songs which I feel is very important?
Senator Pastore: Yes.
Mr. Rogers: This has to do with that good feeling of control which I feel that children need to know is there. And, it starts out, ‘What do you do with the mad that you feel?’ and that first line came straight from a child. I work with children doing puppets and very personal communication with small groups. ‘What do you do with the Mad that you feel? When you feel so mad you could bite? When the whole world seems oh so wrong, and nothing you do seems very right? What do you do? Do you punch a bag? Do you pound some clay or dough? Do you round up friends for a game of tag or see how fast you go? It’s great to be able to stop when you’ve planned a thing that’s wrong and be able to do something else instead and think this song. I can stop when I want to, can stop when I wish, can stop, stop, stop anytime. And, what a good feeling to feel like this, and know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there’s something deep inside that helps us become what we can. For, a girl can be someday a Lady, and a boy can be someday a Man.
Senator Pastore: I think it’s fantastic…. I think it’s wonderful. Looks like you just earned the twenty million.
I watched the debate last night and tried to go in unbiased. Obviously I’m for Obama, but I wanted to give other candidates a chance to convince me. Here’s my rankings and thoughts on the candidates:
9) Bill Richardson: Don’t like him. It’s no accident that he was all the way to the right on the stage. The NRA’s favorite candidate is my least.
8) Chris Dodd: Don’t like him either. He strikes me as a cookie-cutter politician. The mannerisms, the tone of voice, the haircut and the cash from lobbyists all give me that sick feeling.
7) Mike Gravel: This guy is insane, but at least he tells it like it is. He’s an old-timer, and not a good fit to be president. “Who are you scared of?” You, Mr. Gravel.
6) Hillary Clinton: Sure, her answers are polished, she’s got great ideas, and she’s got experience. Problem is, she’s got too much experience. I mean, what was she thinking when she voted for the Iraq war!? Of all the people in the Senate SHE should’ve known Iraq was no threat. Her husband just got done being president and she knew Iraq was contained. She knew that every spy satellite in the US knew if Saddam so much as farted in the wrong direction. She should’ve known that there was no way possible Saddam was making a nuke and there was no way Saddam was working with Al Qaeda. I think she did know all that but she gave in to George Bush’s media drum beat with an eye on….. you guessed it, 2008. I love her as my senator and I think she should stay there.
(By the way if nobody got to see Bill Moyer’s Journal Wednesday night on PBS, I highly recommend you go online and watch. Link The man is a brilliant journalist and he picked apart how the media was used to sell the war in Iraq. Our country’s history took a turn on Sunday, September 8th, 2002 when New York Times published the Aluminum Tubes article on the front page of the Sunday edition. Sure enough there was Dick Cheney on Meet the Press pointing to that very article. Funny thing was, Dick Cheney’s office was responsible for the leak to Judith Miller about those aluminum tubes. If that’s not an evil genius manipulation of the media, I don’t know what is.)
5) Brian Williams: Is he a robot?
4) Dennis Kucinich: As a native of Ohio I’ve always had a soft spot for him. But, seriously, he’d never get elected and I can’t even think of a role he’d serve in the executive branch. He’s a great congressman, and he should stay there.
3) Joseph Biden: Can you say Secretary of State. He’s the kind of guy I like. He’s smart, loud, funny, and right about most things. He’s an excellent negotiator and trustworthy. His mouth is too much for him to be president.
2) John Edwards: He was my choice in 2004, and he still impresses me. He’s got great ideas and he’d unite the nation. “It’s time Americans were patriotic toward something other than war.” Good to hear. Too bad he voted for the Iraq war also with an eye on 2004 and 2008. Everyone knew that vote was monumental and too many people didn’t show the guts or judgment to make the right choice. John Edwards for Attorney General.
1) Barack Obama: Who did you think I was going to put number one. Obama got a little bloodied in that debate. The minute-response format isn’t his best either. His opponents want to be where he is so they ganged up on him. He took the onslaught like a man though, held his own, and didn’t return any attacks. Thomas Friedman wrote a spectacular article about him on the 18th.
“I believe that what has propelled his candidacy up to now -- more than anything -- is that many Americans have projected onto him their hunger for community, their hunger for a president with the voice, instincts and moral authority to make it so much harder for foreigners to be anti-American or for Americans to be anti-one-another.”
Amen.
I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but Barack has ‘it’. I’m 28 years old. My children would likely be born during an Obama administration. He’s a man children can look to as a leader, a visionary and a role model. I’m comfortable with and excited about what an Obama lead generation would look like.
A while back I was watching a baseball game on a Saturday afternoon. The game only sticks out in my memory because in the late innings some drunken idiot thought it would be a good idea to run onto the field and make an ass of himself. He probably was egged on by equally idiotic friends and he wanted his fifteen minutes. In reality, the security and the NYPD almost disemboweled him as they tackled him to the turf. He spent the night in jail and he won’t ever step foot in a stadium again.
Funny thing was, the broadcast didn’t show any of the action. They just gave a half-hearted play-by-play of the scene and a commentary about how you just can’t do that in the “post-9/11” world. They also explained the policy of not showing these idiots because they don’t want to encourage that sort of behavior.
So what’s their policy on mass murderers and their deranged manifestos?
In 1992 I had an inkling that the next presidential cycle would be about economy and technology. In 2000, I thought the next 8 years would be about the Mid East. Right now, I think the next cycle will be about the violence of our society. It’s a broad term, I know, and I think it encompasses education, racism, and equality as much as lunatic murderers.
Personally, I want to see an ’08 candidate take a stand. I wished on Thursday morning that ANY candidate or politician would have the guts stand in front of a camera, willing to put their political lives on the line, and say that NBC was out of line with the public’s interest. And, that the people who made the decision to air Cho Seung-Hui should be fired.
It’s not a freedom of the press issue. Of course they were free to show a lunatic’s manifesto. He mailed it to them, after all. But, they could’ve decided not to show it. They could’ve just said they don’t want to encourage that sort of behavior, but they didn’t. This was a ratings issue not a freedom issue.
Perhaps the public’s desire to see such lunacy is exactly the problem after all.
Somewhere in this country there might be an angry kid considering going on a murderous rampage. Now he thinks he can get his twisted manifesto on TV and go out with Forever Infamy. NBC might have invented a whole new genre or murder.
Nothing of consequence was said or done by any candidate, politician or activist. NBC is just too strong and they’re too scared to take on the mighty media machine.
In my opinion, all the candidates for ’08 are just a bunch of wimps at this point. Senator Obama included. The time to change the world was this week. I, for one, have turned the TV off.
My Betty is a twentieth century fox! Born in 1985, she’s a temperamental 22 year old, and the best friend I’ve ever had; the only friend who’s been there every night; every night is just for me.
My Betty is my Techtronix, 1985 model, flip channel, two pin, UHF compatible color television set. And I loves her, I loves her, I loves her.
Last night we shared a touching moment. I had a hard day at work and she had a special treat for me. A real psychopath in living color. She marginalized and prostituted the bloodshed he caused all for my entertainment. I loves my Betty.
Even though I loves my Betty and all she does for me, I think it’s time someone called for the removal of whatever brain trust at NBC allowed that garbage to be played out for the world to see.
Would that be censorship? I don’t think so. I think there is a level of responsibility that they should be held to. Playing he delusional ramblings of a psychopath two days after he slaughtered 30 people is not what I call good journalism. I call it a ratings coup and encouragement for the next lunatic who wants to kill people and get his thoughts on air.
NBC needs to be held accountable and the people in charge need to go.
A greenhouse gas report was just released about New York City , and it gave some statistics about our consumption of power. Mainly, it stated we’re releasing 58.3 million tons of CO2 a year, roughly the same amount as the entire county of Portugal. Or, we’re responsible for 1% of the country’s total emissions. What do the numbers say? I don’t think anyone knows. New York is a big dirty city and everyone knew that. These numbers confirmed it. Considering almost 3% of the country lives in New York City, though, contributing only 1% of the Carbon emissions isn’t so bad, and considering at any given time there might be 25 million people in the City (almost 9% of the country’s population), maybe it’s not as dirty as we thought.
It’s still dirty though, as is the rest of the country and its in our best interest to clean it up. Our country needs energy independence, so why not kill two birds with one stone and make it Clean Energy Independence?
Nuclear Power has a stigma attached to it thanks to Chernobyl and the Cold War. People attach Nuclear Power with Nuclear War, and the two can be completely separated.
Nuclear power is a fairly simple concept, it uses uranium reactions to heat water, producing steam that turns a turbine which produces electricity. Simple enough. The latest reactor built in the US was in 1996. Think of the technology advances in the past ten years, then consider that most nuclear power plants in the US were built on 1970’s technology. Who knows what 1970’s technology looks like. It’s probably similar to an eight-track player. In 1996 we though a 512 MB Hard Drives and CD players was technology. Now, we have iPods, cell phones, plasma screens…. My point is that technology has advanced a lot. So has nuclear technology.
Chernobyl is the worst nuclear power disaster in history. It’s also the only one, and it was also built poorly by Soviet technology. Is it completely safe? No. Is coal mining safe? No. The point is, we can make it safe, and we can recycle our own spent fuel so it never becomes weapons grade or a radioactive hazard in some Nevada Mountain.
I’ll let the politicians figure the cost in dollars (I have a feeling the amount is similar to the cost to the Iraq War), but it’s in our best interest to champion the ideas. If we let the republicans do it, we’ll be fighting holy wars in the uranium regions of the world in 20 years. We don’t need that.
In the meantime let’s do our part as a society to conserve energy. New York City should start now. This August, we’ll have a blazing hot day and I’ll walk down Broadway or 5th Avenue and all the shops will have their doors open, blasting air conditioning onto the street. It’s nice that they air condition the street like that., but it’s a ridiculous waste of energy. Close the doors! Install revolving doors. Taxis, buses, police vehicles, all should be converted to hybrids within the year. It’s a start.
According to the Federal Government, there are roughly 48 homicides a day in this country. If you’re like me, you have trouble comprehending how a person would ever take anyone else’s life, under any circumstance.
Yesterday, a lone gunman massacred 32 people at Virginia Tech and then killed himself. Before the day was done the media had consulted their ‘American Violence Record Books’ and deemed this The Greatest Act of Gun Violence in American History. They had sampled ever angle, every bit of speculation, planned Prime Time specials, interviewed experts, uploaded photographs, and even hailed new forms of ‘real-time journalism’. And, the American public was riveted.
The Corriere della Sera in Italy ran an opinion piece that said yesterday’s violence “won’t change the culture of a country that has the notion of self-defense imprinted on its DNA and which considers the right of having guns ‘inalienable’.” I couldn’t agree more.
There will be a rush to blame. Some will blame the guns, but they’re just inanimate chunks of metal. Honestly, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Others will blame video games, movies, music, and popular culture. I’m sure this will be George Bush’s rout to explaining the violence when he’s asked. So let me be the first to indict him.
Let’s not forget that George W Bush ordered the unnecessary invasion of Iraq in 2003, a senseless act of violence in and of itself, but on a far greater scale than yesterday’s violence. Why? Because he convinced a lot of people there was a threat, and now it’s history. Untold Iraqi deaths, 3000+ dead Soldiers and countless more wounded. Never mind answering ‘for what’? What has this example set for the children in this country? It set an example that senseless violence is not only OK, but it’s a reasonable solution to problems. But, Bush will be the first to blame movies, video games and rap music, I’m sure.
Are we as Americans genetically predisposed to violence and fear? Probably not, but we’ve been programmed since we were children to think that more war, more cops, more violence etc. will solve our problems. All you have to do is turn on the news, and you’ll see not only the violence within ourselves, but more apparently the violence our country perpetuates. Why shouldn’t we blame the people in charge? The same old men and women who conceive wars and violence for young men and women to fight.
How do we form our society into a peaceful one? How do we save ourselves from ourselves?
